Bottle-cap.



C. W. DUDLEY;

BOTTLE CAP. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23. 1915.

11,239,261. Patented Sept. 4,1917.

Z zwe 775%07 diwszew 21/; 19 I CHESTER-IW.-DUDLEZ, 0F nos'roiv, MASSACHUSETTS.

' BOTTLEQCAP.

Specification of Letters Patent. P3tte1"1ted Septfll, 191 7.

Applicationfilel January 23;1915. Seria1:Noi4,056.

-To all whom 2'2? mag concern:

Be it known. that I, CHESTER W. .DUDLEY, a citizen of the-United 'Statesp-andaresident of Boston, county of Suifollg and-State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Bottle-Caps, of which the following description, in connection with the .accom- .panymg- "ClI'iL-W1I1gS,H1S a specificatiomlike characters on the drawings representing like parts.

My present invention is: a :bottle cap J'WhlCll is capable ofbeing readily attached. toand removed from anysized bottle, jar, or the like, and may benu'sed. repeatedly. My "proved bottle cap is particularly. usefuland -valuable in connection with milk-bottles, where it is of great importance to providev a cap or cover-which may be quickly attached 01"Cl8td'CllOCl, washed, and of'simple construc tion *without grooves, ridges, or the like, which would carry'dust, d1rt, etc., and ,.therefore, a cover which is perfectly hygienic-and sanitary. "Furthermore at is an important feature of mypresent invention to provide a cap and attachingmeans therefor which-will constitute a hinged cover,- capa-ble. i of: :being temporarily opened, and automatically held opened while the contents of thebottle, or

-a-partthereof,- a-re;poured out, and which cover a may then :-be instantly swung .iiDtO place 1 and 1 automa ti'callyretained in closed position. Additional objects of theinvention are to provide a bottle'cap which-will be economical-to manufacture, simple inconstruction, and capable of long-and:continued use on different sized bottles.

Other details ofco-nstruction, advantages and features will be hereinafter pointed out and claimed. I

Referring to the-drawings illustrating my improved bottle -cap Figure 1 is a view in cross-section of a portion of a milkbottle andmy cap applied;

thereto in closed position;

Fig. 2 is a view of the top portion of a bottle with the cap in raised position; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the cap detached from the bottle.

While I have illustrated my bottle cap as applied to a milk bottle of ordinary and well known type, and although this is a large and important field of usefulness for bottle caps of this kind, it will be readily understood that there are many purposes where a temporary cover and one capable of being raised or closed, is desirable, such'as medi- I be required.

cine-containing bottles, all;food containing jarsvor bottles, anchany similar receptaclewhere it is desirable to have a hinged. cover.

In the use of the ordinary milk bottle, it is especially .important to employ a hinged cover which will keep the contents from contamination, and protected, as thecontents :ofsuchbottles is partially poured o-ut'from time totime and itis desirable to keep the bottle coveredzmeanwhile.

.As illustrated in the drawings,'I prefer ,to: make .my-bottle cap. of two'metal. pieces,

theJcOver: portion beingstamped from thin sheet; metaland.comprising. the cap or cover .1, front clasp or clip 2, and rear hinge lug 3. 'Attacheds to the 'hinge.:-por,tion 3 is a wire nlen'lbel t arranged topartially, inclose or straddle the neck of a. bottle, and having the ends formed: as ihooks or loops 5. and 16 to africtionally. engagethe bottleneck-and to 'receive :and. retaina rubberband v7,=spring,or other resilient=:member. VAs; shown in the .drawings,'1 prefer ftovmake the front clasp 2 as a short extending-piece which may spring on the riinof a bottle, and the rear .lug-3Lis formed directly opposite thereto on thezcover l 'with a doubled or-loop-like part -8rtoinclose the straight middle part of the swireet, thus constituting a hinge. The wire is preferablyvmade with its arms ofsimi- .lar sizerand length and-with substantially horizontal. portion :formed of=open U- shaped; arms to snap onto :the bottle neck ion: which the hooks 5 and b are carried, and

with short upstanding vertical portions to 1 engage-Qthezloop 8 of the hinge part. This Vupstanding:lportion will depend upon the Edistance ofzthe'neck ofthe-bottle below the top, althouglnas is wellknown-in milk bottles, this distance. varies but slightly,- and,

therefore, my, cap-is applicable to: milk.

bottle of ordinary size. For medicine bottles, a slightly modified construction might Attached to the hooks 5 and 6 is the rubber band 7, which enables the device to be attached to diiierent sized receptacles, and when so attached will exert a considerable tension on the wire member l and hinge of the cap. The portion 1 of the cap is stamped out to fit and cover the top of a bottle, and as illustrated in the draw ing' it is of appropriate diameter and size to fit onto the annular shoulder depressed in the top of the milk bottle, and also the clasp 2 and hinge part 3 are connected to the cap automatically fit, adjust and hold the entire device onto the bottle, retaining the same under a constant tension. As shown-in Fig. 1, the cover when moved downwardly is maintained in position by the resiliency of the spring clasp 2, fitting over and slightly under the flaring rim 13 of the bottle. When it is desired to open the bottle, a slight pressure under the clip 2 will spring said clip or clasp off that part of the rim on which it is held and the tension ofthe rubber band 7 will at once exert a downward and forward movement on the wire member 4, and thus tend to automatically open the entire cover. The hinge 3 being pulled downwardly against the rim 13 of the bottle, said rim acts as a fulcrum, and the leverage on the hinge of the wire member 4t undertension of the rubber band or spring will swing the entire cover upwardly and hold the same substantially in the position shown in Fig. 2. Thus the contents of the bottle may be poured out without difliculty or hindrance and without coming into contact with the cover, and the cover itself may be again snapped downwardly into position.

It will thus be seen that my improved bottle cap constitutes a readily attachable and detachable hinged cover to a jar or bottle, converting such jar, bottle or receptacle into a covered pitcher in a simple and efficient manner. Also, should the rubber band 7 be lost or destroyed, the cap can be easily used with any similar rubber band, or spring which are common articles of commerce, no special band being required to complete and operate the device.

It will be noted that the cover 1 is always held tightly pressed into position when closed, the resiliency of the clasp or clip 2 holding the cover at one point and the rubber band 7 exerting a downward tension on the hinge 3 at the opposite point. It will also be readily appreciated that, when applying the cap to a receptacle, the rubber band or other resilient member may be deband 7, or resilient member, to be hooked over the clip or clasp 2 and thus hold the same locked downwardly in closed position, preventing accidental opening or spilling of the contents should the receptacle be upset.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the kind described, com prising a hinged metallic cover for bottles, said cover having a spring clasp at one point to fit over the rim of the bottle, and a hinge lug at the opposite side, a metallic hinge clasp having a vertically, extending portion adapted to be pivotally attached to the hinge lug of said cap cover, and with horizontal U-shaped spring arms adapted to straddle and partially inclose bottle necks of various sizes with a sprmg tension and means to re tain the grip of said arms on the bottle neck.

2. A device of the kind described, comprising a hinged metallic cover for bottles, said cover having a spring clasp at one point to fit over the rim of the bottle, and a hinge lug at the opposite side, a metallic hinge clasp having a vertically extending portion adapted to be pivotally attached to the hinge lug of said capcover, and with horizontal U--shaped spring arms adapted to straddle and partially inclose bottle necks of various sizes with a spring tension, the ends of said U-shaped arm being adapted to receive a yielding member to inclose the remaining portion of the bottle neck not clasped by said arms.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHESTER W. DUDLEY.

Witnesses:

T. ALBERT HIGGINS, HARRY W. KIMBALL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. O. 

